The Myplace Playbook // 050

Hey Everyone,

I know many of you have spent the past two years paralyzed by rate uncertainty, waiting for the BoC to "do something." Well, now we know: the rate floor is here. The BoC has signalled it will hold or potentially hike, not cut. If you've been hedging your bets, waiting for one more rate cut, that moment of decision has arrived.

The Bank of Canada's announcement this week wasn't flashy. Just a simple hold at 2.25% for the second meeting in a row. But clarity, it turns out, is its own form of momentum.

If you look to the east, not for the rising sun but for some insight, you'll see something interesting. British Columbia and Ontario get painted as different worlds, one West Coast, one Central. But on housing, they're more alike than many of us out West would like to admit.

Both provinces corrected sharply after pandemic spikes and rate hikes. Both developed massive inventory gluts. And both, right now, are doing something similar: levelling off.

Ontario: Prices held steady month-to-month in late 2025. Sales-to-new-listings ratios are back to balanced territory. The average monthly mortgage payment for a Toronto home is projected to fall in 2026, the first improvement since 2020.

British Columbia: Greater Vancouver prices stabilized at three-year lows (down 6.8% year-over-year but holding steady). Sales volumes are increasing. BCREA forecasts an 8.8% recovery in B.C. home sales in 2026.

While our region isn’t Vancouver, nor is it Toronto, it’s still a very strong indicator of where we’re also heading.

The isn't so much a "prices are booming." type statement, rather in that prices are holding. The correction has run its course. And with holding comes recovery.

Not dramatically. Not overnight. But moving.

The GTA saw its lowest per-capita sales in decades during 2024-2025, but demand doesn't disappear, it builds. When rate clarity arrives, it comes off the sidelines. The same dynamic is playing out in B.C., where the 8.8% sales recovery forecast reflects buyers planning to return.

Active listings across Canada remain elevated, meaning choice for you is still strong.

December data shows transactions are happening in major metros, not in bidding wars, but selling. The market is transitioning from "anything goes, huge inventory, no bids" to "measured inventory, deliberate buying."

Prices aren't climbing back to 2021-2022 levels. The correction is real. But the freefall has stopped. The MLS Home Price Index is down year-over-year (national average -4%), but month-to-month declines have slowed significantly.

Prices are stabilizing. Rates are likely at their lowest… ahem, as much as one can predict based on industry knowledge that is.

If this spring is the time you're planning to make a move, let's chat today.

Here's why! I can secure a rate hold for you right now that lets you shop this spring knowing you're protected.

If rates go up? You're locked in.

If they go down? (And look, this is a REALLY BIG if, it's not really likely at all.) You can change it. You have flexibility built in while the market is still in your favor.

Second option: if you're going to refinance to unlock some equity, we can do this today based on what could very well be the best rates you'll see all year.

And even if we're wrong, even if rates drop unexpectedly, what you're saving in interest between now and when the next few BoC rate announcements happen... you're already ahead. You're insulated in the savings you've already captured.

What we're seeing out East is clear: it still is a buyers' market. But there's a growing number of buyers in the market. In Ontario and B.C., inventory is moderating, sales volumes are picking up, and pent-up demand is mobilizing.

Soon, the advantage may flip.

The spring market doesn't start in April. It starts now, in the conversations we're having, the rate holds we're locking in, the refinances we're securing. By March, the competitive dynamic will shift. By April, you'll be one of dozens of offers on the table instead of one of a few.

Reply to this email and tell me where you are. Let's talk about which path makes sense for you, and whether this window is the right one to move through.

Reply to enter for a $50 local gift card. Winners drawn February 15, 2026.

-Andrew